


The Way of Tea at Sunrise

by Narwhal_Lord



Category: NIOH (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narwhal_Lord/pseuds/Narwhal_Lord
Summary: One year after Otakemaru's demise and Maria's capture, Hide arrives at William's doorstep. A series of oneshots about William and Hide after the end of NIOH 2, generally with tea involved.
Kudos: 16





	The Way of Tea at Sunrise

The dawn was in rare form today, William mused.

Amber-crimson light lanced from beyond the ocean, scattering across the navy sky in hues of blue and gold. Birds chattered, leaves rustled, and water burbled merrily. It was peace of the loud variety; enough sound to occupy and quiet an idle mind.

Most importantly to William, it meant his son was not awake yet.

Saoirse, his eternal companion, murmured something into his ear. As always, she was right: If his son was going to sleep in, then he'd make the most of it. Perhaps even tea- no need to cook breakfast or answer a thousand impossible questions.

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Of course, the moment he poured the tea into his cup, someone knocked at the door.

He let out a soft groan, resisting the urge to roll his eyes like a petulant child. "Don't you laugh at that, Saoirse," he huffed, rising carefully and shuffling across the woven floor, "A man's time alone is a precious thing."

Saoirse put a scaled hand to her mouth, fading into motes of gold and silver light. Her presence curled itself back into his own, radiating a faint warmth.

Once again, someone was knocking on the frame of his door. Though his supernatural senses were weak, it was more than enough to feel the trickle of power residing in his unknown visitor.

"If a _yokai_ is here to ruin my morning, they have another thing coming," he muttered, gripping the edge of the sliding panel. Sparing only a moment to prepare himself, he slid the door open and fixed his eyes on the visitor. "I don't usually get callers this early in the- oh."

A tall woman with searing blue eyes looked back, her angular features cast in sharp relief by the dawn's dim light. Her posture matched his own: squared shoulders and carefully placed feet, prepared to run away or dive forward at any moment.

If he concentrated, calling once again on his supernatural senses, he would no doubt see a pair of golden horns sprouting from her forehead.

"Ah," he paused, stroking his chin and furrowing his brow, "You'd be... Hide, right? Didn't expect to see you around these parts."

Had her hair turned whiter in the last year? It was certainly longer than before; she had it up in a ponytail now.

Hide smiled, tilting her head and offering William a small wooden box.

"Right. You don't talk much, do you," William shrugged, accepting the box and bowing appropriately. "I suppose you should come inside, then. I was just about-"

Opening the box made him stop short, jaw stuck open. He glanced from Hide to the box, and then back again. Tea- and not just any tea, but high quality _Sencha_ tea leaves. "...to have tea," he finished lamely, composing himself. "Why don't you come inside, then? If you're going to give me tea that costs more than my house, you might as well enjoy it."

After all, this sort of thing didn't happen every day.

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"Not one for talking, are you?" William said, legs folded neatly beneath him as he sipped his tea. "I feel the same, sometimes."

Hide smiled faintly, blue eyes shimmering as she perused one of the samurai's books from across the sea.

"Perhaps-" William halted, bringing his hand up to rub the whitish scruff on his chin. "Sorry. When did I start speaking English? Saoirse, did you-?"

The aquatic guardian spirit coalesced, a sparkling trail of gold in her wake. Swimming through the air to rest a hand on William's shoulder, she laughed. "She speaks it, she simply chooses not to speak."

Hide's eyes twinkled, nodding for him to go on.

William coughed politely, casting a net through his thoughts. Not long ago, Hide's companion- Mumyo, the yokai hunter- had been the guest across his tea table. Perhaps Hide would only speak if she felt a need to?

"From what your friend Mumyo has said, and what I overheard, you were fighting a yokai of some sort. Seems we both had troubles with grey-skinned, red-eyed spirits, eh?" William chuckled, "I'd say Kelly and his snakes were a fair bit larger than your particular brand of trouble, but if the stories about Kashin Koji are true..." he trailed off, frowning as he bent forwards to pour himself a second cup of tea.

Hide stopped him, her hand laying gently on his wrist. Shaking her head, blue eyes twinkling, she poured the cup for him. "...Alright, then," William muttered, "And here I thought I'd figured you out."

Shrugging languidly, Hide brushed a few loose strands of black-tipped grey out of her face. She watched intently as William sipped at the tea, patient and unreadable.

"Forgive me, Hide. I'm not used to leading the conversation- even my guardian spirits are better at it than I am," William sighed, glancing over his shoulder with a smile. Saoirse smiled back, murmuring something in a language Hide didn't quite understand.

"Right, thank you. There was something else," William continued, "When we fought-"

Hide winced, leading William to stop. The moment he stopped, though, she frowned at him and waved a hand.

William hid a grimace. People were always too complicated for his liking.

"You called upon the Nine Tails. Two years ago, I fought and killed their mistress, and I learned something interesting from spirit division. She said she was married to Hideyoshi, after he killed someone important to her... but you're Hideyoshi too, aren't you? I'd love to hear the story, if you're willing to tell it."

Hide licked her lips contemplatively, bright white fangs peeking between them. After a long pause, filled only with the distant and pleasing sounds of nature, a bluish shark materialized much the same way Saoirse did.

"Usually I have to fight for those, you know," William grumbled, "Came all the way to Japan to get one back. Using spirit division just because you don't like talking..." He chuckled. "Ah, if only we'd met earlier."

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By the time his son woke up, Hide had left- leaving only a pile of books and the faint scent of Yokai in her wake. He'd seen her off with a smile and a wave, thanking her for delivering tea fit for Ieyasu Tokugawa's table (and possibly more _expensive_ than Ieyasu's table; the man was frugal in the extreme).

After finishing his fourth cup of the brew, he quietly hoped Hide would come by sometime soon, and wondered how deep her pockets were.

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The next morning, Hide brought more tea- and her own tea set.

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**Author's Note:**

> I'm porting this to AO3 ahead of possible updates to it; I fully expect to write a chapter or three for this before I get back to work on All the World's a Sale.


End file.
